Three girls tackle London

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Two of my girlfriends and I had a 8 day vacation in London...and we made the most of it. We kept the days full of sightseeing and shopping and went out every night. Because we stayed at a friend's flat, I can't vouch for the lodging in London, but if it's anything like the rest off the city it is, as they say, brilliant.

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Author: Alexi

Day 1 - London

We flew into London and, fighting jet lag, decided to walk around in the sunshine to acclimate ourselves at Hyde park. It is absolutely gorgeous. After the park we stopped by St. Paul's Cathedral, since the dome was visible from the flat we were staying at. Both highly recommended, and nice for a first day because they are fairly low-key.

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020/7246-8350

Day 2 - London

This was a day of wildly stereotypical tourist activities...and a total blast. My girlfriends and I got tickets for a double decker bus tour and drove around the cloudy city. Over the course of the day we saw Cleopatra's needle and Big Ben, and took a tour of Westminster Abbey. The Abbey was full of people wearing ugly sandals, flashing cameras and conversing in many different languages, but was still quite breathtaking. Make sure you catch a choir performance.

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20 Dean's Yard
Broad Sanctuary, SW1
SW1P 3PA London, England

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020/7222-5152

Day 3 - London

Another day of sightseeing...The London Eye offers a great view of the city. Try to show up early to miss out on the line, and go on a clear day to really enjoy the view. Don't expect a thrill-ride, but do take a few moments to look at your fellow eye-travelers. They're part of the experience.
Don't miss out on the Tower of London, either. The audio tour is a good idea because you can take your time and linger at any especially fascinating sites, or pause it for especially tempting photo ops. If you're feeling especially touristy, take pictures with the workers dressed in period costume.
Oxo is upscale and serves excellent food - our friend's aunt took us out to dinner here, and we felt very high-society. I'm sure we didn't look it, but we felt it.
Kabaret was also a good time; it's an interesting mix of dive and exclusivity. Not the most welcoming of places for three giggly Americans, but we felt as though we were getting a glimpse into authentic London nightlife.

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16-18 Beak Street, Soho
W1F 9RD London, United Kingdom

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44 20 7287 8140

Day 4 - London

The British Museum is a marathon of a museum. It's big. And full. And potentially overwhelming. There are a few ways to tackle the Museum: 1. Decide beforehand what you want to see. Go and see it. Leave. 2. Pack a backpack full of food, flares and walkie talkies, pick a meeting point with your friends and hope that everyone is there by the end of the day. 3. Hit up the giftshop and buy several dozen postcards. When anyone asks you what your favorite part of the museum was, describe one of them.
The Queen's Theatre in London has some fantastic productions. Check out their listings and if anything sounds good, it probably is. Thinking we were out for a night of classy theater, my friends and I dressed up...only to find that we were the only people in the theater wearing dresses. We just played it off like we had come from a fancy affair. And probably didn't fool anyone. But the play itself was excellent, and although there wasn't a local in sight, we had a wonderful time. After going back to the flat and changing out of our dresses, we headed out to a pub and met plenty of locals (who could, apparently, tell we were American even before we opened our mouths).

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51 Shaftesbury Avenue
W1D 6BA London, United Kingdom

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44 20 7494 5041

Day 5 - London

The National Portrait Gallery is free, and full of paintings of English Aristocracy (surprise). Well worth a few hours of wandering. Try to pace yourself with the museums in England - it's easy to burn yourself out.
High Tea at the Savoy is part of the quintessential English afternoon. We actually drank Earl Grey and ate scones. We went with a true Londoner, too (the nanny of the family we were staying with) and therefore didn't embarrass ourselves too much.
Later, after we had digested our crust-less sandwiches and pots of tea, we went to Fabric for a multi-story night of DJs, British boys and sweaty dancing.

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77A Charterhouse St
EC1
EC1M 3HN London, England

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020/7336-8898

Day 6 - London

St. James park is a lush, relaxing, manicured green patch in the city. Lovely, just lovely, and perfect for a relaxing morning after a night of clubbing. Take breakfast and watch the passersby.
Oxford circus is a shopping mecca. It is easy to drop pounds (of money) here. And boy, did we. But everyone needs a pair of British-flag underwear. The Edge is, well, edgier than some of the other nightlife venues we had sampled so far, but just as fun. Perfect for getting in touch with the grittier, local side of London after dark.

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11 Soho Sq
W1
W1D 3QE London, England

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0044/207-439-1313

Day 7 - London

Piccadilly Circus is great for shopping, people watching and ... well, that's good enough. For three young women it was more than enough to occupy us for an entire afternoon. Trafalgar square is nearby and is another iconic London site, well worth a few pictures. Also: if you are walking home from the pubs late at night, and London is in the middle of a heat wave, you and your friends may want to have a late-night splash in the fountain.
The Palace Theatre produces, and has for many years, a fantastic version of Les Miserables. The music is wonderful, the costumes and the sets are great, and this, along with The Phantom of the Opera, is a definite theater-must-see.

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109-113 Shaftesbury Avenue
W1V 8AY London, United Kingdom

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44 870 895 5579

Day 8 - London

We decided to spend the last day of our London stay at quintessentially London places. Buckingham palace is about as British as you can get, and is well worth a visit. The Black Friar and the Goat in Boots are two fantastic little pubs, each one low-key, comfortable and again, uber-British. We went to the Black Friar for lunch, wandered around the shops and streets of London one last time, and ended the day with a meal and a pint at the Goat in Boots before taking the train to Heathrow for the long flight back to the states.